15th Dec 2008, 02:02
Repairs such as a timing belt (changed preventively) and alignment, tires, oil changes are necessary repairs. As much as he wishes domestics are perfect, they are not by any stretch of the imagination.
15th Dec 2008, 17:46
I have loads of answers for you. First of all, open the hood. Look around. On a domestic car, you'll notice plenty of weld splatter on the frame. I know because I pay close attention to detail. I've looked under the hood of even the top-of-the-line Corvette and found welding splatter.
Secondly, look at the machining and tooling of the engine parts, particularly the aluminum block. I've rented several new GM cars on trips. The castings are done so using a Styrofoam process... and the castings have a Styrofoam texture. Nothing says "quality" like engine parts that look like chunks of Styrofoam.
Next look at the layout of the wires and hoses. On Domestic vehicles you'll often find the hoses and wires snaked haphazardly across the engine, back and forth. Next look under the wheel wells of a domestic car that's at least a year old. Notice the rust? Yes. The domestic vehicles I've seen have scant amounts of paint on the frame. I've even seen rust on brand new domestic car frames at the dealership.
Now do all of those things on a Japanese brand car. For one, you'll find zero weld splatter. Even on my $9,000 Tacoma, the welding is near-perfect.
Next look at the quality of the engine components. Excellent tooling and machining. No shortcuts here.
Also notice that most of the bolts are anodized versus cheap black painted like on GM and Fords.
Now look at the layout of the hoses/wiring. See how neat it is? They do that so you can get to things easily.
Lastly, look at the frames of an older Japanese car. No rust. Nope, because there's enough paint in the first place.
The bottom line is that the proof is in the details, care, and execution, and as someone who's very perceptive, there is no comparison. Japanese cars are simply engineered by people with a higher degree of care and understanding. I can't say the same for US cars... that is unless they're simply a re-badged Ford or GM product.
14th Dec 2008, 14:45
I'm afraid that's all the answer you'll EVER get to that question. My family has owned Japanese and German imports as well as domestics. The domestics were clearly and indisputably better, more reliable vehicles and a better overall value. I see no advantage to imports.